The present invention is generally directed to a flexible handle for carrying a bag, particularly multi-ply bags for carrying bulk commodities such as rice, seed, fertilizer and the like in which the handle is soft and easy to grip.
Multi-ply and single ply, kraft and plastic bags are used in the packaging industry to package bulk commodities such as rice, seed, salt, animal foods, charcoal briquets, agricultural chemicals and the like. The bags have a generally rectangular shape with an optional gusset, typically of from about 3 to 6 inches in width. The packaging volume of such bags is sufficient to carry loads of the bulk commodities on the order of 10 to 25 pounds and at times the weight of the commodity can be up to 50 pounds. In some cases the bags are provided with a handle to facilitate carrying.
One end of such bags has a handle attached thereto by stitching, gluing, heat sealing and the like. The other end of the bag remains open until the bag commodity is loaded. When loading is completed, the open end is closed by sealing or the like. In the manufacture of such bags, it is desirable to provide a flexible handle that is no thicker than the bag in its folded condition. In this way, the bag and the handle can be stacked flat within a carton and shipped to the bulk commodity supplier.
An example of a handle for this purpose is shown in Schneck, U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,258. The handle has a desirably thin, flat construction so that the thickness of the handle is no greater than the width of the bag when it is folded and stacked for shipping. The handle must also be pivotable about its end so that when the gripping portion of the handle is engaged by the user, the handle will pivot upwardly as shown specifically in FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,258.
While it is desirable to construct the flexible handle of a bag with a flat, thin profile, it is also highly desirable to provide a handle which fits comfortably in the finger region of the hand even under heavy loads. Current designs including the handle shown and described in the ""258 Patent are disadvantageous because they dig into the fingers and/or are uncomfortable because the weight of a fully loaded bag provides excessive stress on the gripping portion of the handle. In particular, when the handle is engaged by the user and the bag lifted, substantially the entire weight of the bag is directed downwardly against the user""s fingers through the gripping portion. The width and shape of the gripping portion is therefore critical in distributing the weight of the load. Current designs which employ thin and/or concave shape gripping portions are prone to stress because of their relatively low surface area. For example, typical handle designs currently in use are uncomfortable even when the load is no more than about 20 pounds per square inch.
In addition to the stress placed on the user""s hand, the thin handles of the type used in industry often cannot withstand the physical stress resulting from the load. As a result such handles often tear. One of the critical aspects in designing a soft flexible handle, in addition to a user friendly gripping portion and a thin, flexible construction, is that the handle must be resistant to tearing even when under heavy loads. Tearing is often caused by a weakness in the handle design such that the applied load exceeds what the handle can support at a particular location along the surface of the handle design. With handle designs such as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,258 tearing often occurs at the junction between the gripping portion and the leg portions of the handle.
It would therefore be a significant advance in the art of providing handles for multi-ply and single ply bags for packaging a variety of products including commodities if a handle could be produced which is thin, soft and flexible, yet strong enough to withstand tearing even when supporting loads of up to 25 to 50 pounds.
It would be a further advance in the art if a thin soft and flexible durable handle could be provided which is simple to manufacture and inexpensive to produce.
The present invention is generally directed to a thin flexible handle for a carrying bag which is thin enough to be stored with the bag in a folded condition and not add to the depth of the stored bag, and is soft and flexible so that it can be readily gripped by the user. The handle should have a soft comfortable feel even when supporting loads of up to 50 pounds. The present handle also desirably has a construction which resists tearing even under such significant loads.
In a particular aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thin flexible handle for a carrying bag comprising:
a) a pair of legs each having a first end for attachment to the bag and a remote end, said handle being pivotable about said first end when the bag is lifted;
b) a pair of connecting portions operatively connected to the respective legs at said remote ends and defining a gripping portion therebetween; and
c) a gripping portion for engagement by the user to lift the bag, said gripping portion being separated from the respective legs by a gap having a surface contiguous with the connecting portion, said surface having a radius of curvature sufficient to provide the handle with a resistance to tearing.